


To Find Home

by AnjuSchiffer



Category: Maribat - Fandom
Genre: Big Brother Jason, F/M, Jasonette BROTP, MariBat
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-27
Updated: 2020-03-27
Packaged: 2021-03-01 04:41:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,168
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23345644
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AnjuSchiffer/pseuds/AnjuSchiffer
Summary: After being placed into the Lazarus' Pit for a second time, Jason's memories begin to tap back into him, one particular phrase sticking to him: Go back to Mari.
Relationships: Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug & Jason Todd
Comments: 26
Kudos: 534





	To Find Home

**Author's Note:**

> I've always read some Jasonette BROTP where Jason isn't desperately searching for Mari, so I went ahead and wrote where he does... So yes... this was a self-indulgence :D
> 
> ENJOY!
> 
> (PS whats beta-ing lol)

Jason rose to the water’s surface in desperation, clawing at the water, his body on fire. His lungs were adjusting to the chilling air and his senses attempted to calibrate to his new surroundings for a second time. 

_Get back to her._

For some reason that phrase rang stronger than before through his head, motivating him to get out of the water and run. He dressed himself with clothing he found along the way of his escape, faces barely registering as he ran past people, their voices muted as they tried to grab him back.

He didn’t dare let him lay a finger on him, fighting through the burning soreness in his calves.

He had to get back to her no matter what.

* * *

Ignoring the groaning man by the door, Jason huddled next to the fire, warming himself up after running in the snow for who-knows how long. He found a cabin and quickly seeked refuge, not caring if he had to hurt a man in the process.

After all, it was all to find her… her? Who was _her_ , or rather she? 

What was her name? 

Ma. Mari. Mari. It was Mari. 

That’s right! He had to get back to Mari… but how?

_XXX-XXX-XX-XX-XX-XX_

A number! A phone number! 

What was the number? Her number?

Would it still work?

Jason ran his hand through his hair, stopping as he reached the tips of them. While they weren’t to his shoulder, they were definitely too long to be considered short. 

He froze.

How much time has passed? And… where was he?

How was he going to get back to Mari?

Jason looked out the snowy window, knowing there was no time to waste if he wanted to find Mari as soon as possible.

Taking a few things from the cabin, Jason headed out the door, thanking the injured man as he closed the door behind him.

* * *

Jason waited for his coffee as he went over what he was able to gather from just walking to the closest town. 

(Where he had grabbed the money? Old habits die hard he guessed...)

First off, the place he managed to escape from was on a mountain.

There was fucking snow on that mountain. 

He barely understands the languages that were spoken here. 

German was widely spoken here, in which he barely understood. 

He thought he was in Germany for that matter, but quickly replaced it with Switzerland. 

Germany only had German as its official language, but the official languages here also included Italian, Romansh and French. 

And French… Jason understood better than German.

He had a feeling Mari had something to do with him knowing the basics of French, conversational French for that matter.

He was able to confirm that this was indeed in Switzerland through a French speaking resident, finding out he was hours away from France. Which led him to his next dilemma. 

Money. 

Jason chuckled into his coffee at this setback, wondering why he thought it was a problem. He was going to find a way to get to France, to manage to snag a ride there. 

Surprisingly he did, at least, for half the way he was able to. 

Catching the train wasn’t hard, even pretending to have a ticket for that train wasn’t hard. The problem with Jason was that he had a hard time staying out of trouble.

He was quickly found in the kitchen of the train he stowed away on, stuffing his mouth and bag with food before being chased out of the train, Jason having to resort to jumping out of the train to avoid being shot. 

He badly wanted to shoot back, but didn’t when he realized that there were children around the same age as Mari in the cabins, Jason quickly dismissing that idea as soon as it came.

That led him to being stranded again, having to walk to the nearest town in search of information once more. Of course, he would have to go to the center of the town. More information was gathered standing there than sitting at a pub in the outskirts.

Luckily, Jason found one in record time.

However, a waft of something made him detour towards reaching the center of the town. This waft was familiar, almost nostalgic. 

Jason didn’t realize he was following the aroma until he got to the source of familiarity, cradling his head as snippets of his memories came back to him. 

Alfred… recipes… Mari… bread… home… family…

Staggering, Jason opened the bakery doors and made his way to the baskets of bread, his mind already placing names onto the breads he swore he didn't know the names of. 

Ficelle, Fougasse, Pain de campagne and… Brioche…

Mari liked brioche. Something about it being the first recipe she learned. 

The man asked if he needed any help with the baked goods, Jason shaking his head, picking up the brioche. 

“1.65” Jason muttered to himself as he looked at the price tag of the brioche; _165_. !65!

Quickly placing the bread at the counter and paying for it, Jason also asked to use their phone, getting a look from the bakery owner.

Okay, let’s try that again. Nearest phone?

The man gave him an address and directions to where Jason could use a public phone, Jason thanking him and promptly leaving the tiny bakery. 

* * *

“‘011’ because I’m from America, ‘33’ because you’re from France, 165 because it’s the number that won us the toy, 619 because I hate that wrestler and 623 because it’s the day we met.” Jason said to himself as he dialed the number, waiting for someone to pick up, only for the operator to tell him that the number was invalid. 

Jason hung the phone before picking it up again to only once more hang the phone. 

Invalid? _Invalid_ . **_Invalid!_ **

Jason picked up the phone once more, knowing what he had to do.

01 6561 96 23. 

America, he was no longer in. In France, it was the place he was in. 01 because he was in France. The rest was his way to her. 

The phone rang, Jason tapping the tiny shelf like counter in the booth, when he heard a click. 

He eagerly greeted the person in English, started to talk to Mari about how he was in France now and-

“ _Désolé monsieur, mais vous avez le mauvais numéro_.” And with that, the person hung up, leaving Jason back to square one. 

Slamming the phone back into its place, Jason left the phone booth, wondering if he really had to search for Mari from scratch.

* * *

A month passed as Jason finally made his way to Paris, using whatever little leads he got from where Mari could possibly be. After tracking down certain names he remembered writing to her about and different landmarks she would mention, it directed him to Paris. Aside from these pieces of information, he also let his memories guide him. Using the bakery he first went to as a guide, he would enter every bakery -whether a family runned one or a professional one- to taste the pastries. 

None of them tasted the way Mari told him her father made them. 

None of them used rice in their bread, causing some of them to scoff or even laugh at the concept. 

However, one person did tell him where he was able to find such a marvelous technique: Paris. 

So there was Jason, about to start his search for his little sister when a black car pulled up to him, the tinted window rolling down. 

Jason’s eyes narrowed. While his memories have returned for the majority, Jason would’ve never forgotten the name of the man in front of him.

“Bruce.”

* * *

Another month was wasted thanks to Bruce dragging Jason back to Gotham, Jason escaping him various times along the way. The only escape Jason would even look at as a success was when he jumped out of the plane while they were over the Atlantic Ocean. It took Bruce a whole week to catch Jason on the shores of some remote island.

The game of cat and mouse ended once Bruce placed a tracking device on all of Jason’s things, essentially placing him under house arrest. 

Jason managed to find where all the tracking devices were at after a few days, but even then, he was caught by Bruce, being thrown off his motorbike and taken back to the Cave. That led to him sitting in front of the supercomputer, watching minor crimes happen in Gotham.

He huffed, watching the old man take down one crime after another. He watched as Bruce-

The supercomputer! Jason laughed, his laughs bouncing throughout the Cave, giving a scare to the other residents. 

He had all the information he needed right here! Why didn’t- 

Realizing his stupidity, Jason banged his head on the table.

“You alright Jason?”

“Timmy, right?” Ignoring the ‘It’s Tim’ correction, “Want to help me locate someone?” The twinkle that appeared in Tim’s eyes reminded him of a certain someone.

“Who are we looking for?” Tim asked, Jason wondering if this was the right person to ask, especially when he wanted to know where Tim got a hold of that coffee machine that wasn’t there moments ago.

“Not we, me.” Jason clarified, noting to never ask Tim again to help him out. Nor to ever meet Mari… ever.

* * *

After a few days of using the resources at the tips of his fingers (and help from Tim), Jason had finally done it. 

He felt the ends of his lip curve upwards, a surge of happiness swell inside of him when he finished composing the file he needed. 

A pair of bluebell eyes stared back at him, her midnight hair tied into low pigtails, the red ribbons added a nice contrast to her hair. 

Jason stuffed the file into his bag and grabbed his leather jacket and made his way to the deep portion of the cave. 

However, a hand on his shoulder prevented him from advancing. 

“Where are you going?” Bruce asked, his hand gripping on Jason’s shoulder. Hitting the hand away, Jason stared at Bruce. 

“To find my sister. So move.” 

Jason was glad to not be asked more questions, even if the murmurs behind his back sent a shiver down his spine. 

* * *

Jason took one last breath as he saw Marinette walk down the stairs of the school with her head hung low. 

He wanted to run over and hug her to cheer her up, but decided against it as it would ruin his surprise visit, although the bigger question was if she still remembered him. Did she?

She’s grown since the last time he had seen her, which was eons ago. Her skin looked tanner than before, but her eyes seemed much older than what they should be. They shrouded in tiredness and longing, in determination and misery. 

But he was about to change that, whether the two were prepared for the future or not. 

It was now or never, hoping this didn’t end in complete failure. 

Taking a deep breath and cupping his hands around his mouth, “PIXIE!”

The way she perked up at the name and began to look around to who had called her brought tears to his eyes. She still remembered! “PIXIE!” He yelled again, watching as her eyes landed on him, her hands quickly covering her lips as tears formed in her eyes. The corners of his lip wobbled as they curved upwards. 

Jason ran up to the girl, scooping her into a squishing embrace. “Pixie Pop! We meet again.”

“Jason.” Marinette softly said, trying her best to suppress her quaking voice. “It’s really you, isn’t it?” 

Stepping away, placing his hands on her shoulders, he gave her a smile. 

“Of course it is Marinette.” He wiped away her tears with his thumb. “I told you I would come to Paris one day.” He grinned. “I always keep my promises.” 

Marinette let out a wail before throwing herself at him, causing him to step back. Despite being smaller than him, she showed she was stronger than she looked like. 

She cried into his shirt, Jason having to awkwardly lead her to the side as other students watched the two in complete befuddlement. 

They were finally together, finally able to see each other after several years, almost a decade since they last saw each other in the flesh. 

After what seemed like minutes, Marinette sniffled one last time before giving Jason a smile. 

“Ever since you stopped mailing me letters and stopped calling me every Friday night, I thought you had gotten annoyed with me.”

“What!” Jason was hurt. “Why would I ever get bored of you Nettie?” He hugged her. “You’re my sister, whom I love dearly.” At that, Marinette smiled, but something made Jason shiver. 

“Then why haven’t you kept in touch?” Marinette said in a growl. Jason gulped. “Why haven’t I received something from you for the past four years?!” 

“H-has it really been that long?” Jason inquired, just realizing that he never questioned the quick passage of time.

“You see, about that-“

“Well if it isn’t Marinette.” A voice interrupts their sweet reunion, Jason watching as Marinette tensed up before her body laced into defense. “See you got a new boy toy.” Marinette scowled. 

“First off, how dare you assume that!” Marinette looked at Jason. “Jason, this is Lila- my new bully since last semester.” She then turned to Lila with a smirk. “Lila, this is Jason… my _older brother.”_ Marinette watched as blood in Lila’s face drained from her face before returning. 

“Sure, whatever you say Marinette.” Lila got nose to nose with Marinette. “We both know what you're really up to. And for the record, this won’t give you brownie points in trying to get Adrien to look your way.” 

“For the record Lila, I’m already over Adrien, ever since I found out he already had someone he likes.”

“Oh?” She flipped her hair, thinking she had finally won. “Do tell.”

“Sure thing.” Placing a hand in her hip, Marinette smiled. “Her name is Ladybug and he’s head over heels for her, every inch of his desk covered in her. From photos to merch. If I were you, I’d give up. After all, you could never light a candle to her.”

Seething, Lila raises her hand to slap Marinette, only to be overpowered by Jason. 

Grabbing hold of her wrist, he jerks her forward, using that momentum to pin her arm behind her, holding her in an armlock. While it seemed like he was hugging her from behind, only the trio knew what was actually going on. 

All of Lila’s spunk and superiority fled from her being, Lila now whimpering as she felt something dig into her back. It was cold and round, fear instilling into Lila when she heard the cocking of a trigger. 

“Listen here bitch. If I ever hear or see you raising even a finger against my sister, I’ll make sure your life becomes a living hell.” Lila let out a wobbly scoff. 

“L-Listen here! My mother is a diplomat for the Italian Embassy and when she hears that you’re threatening her little girl, a mere child, she’ll-.” Lila felt her heart stop when Jason pressed the gun further into her back. She felt him loom over her ear. 

“You think you’re above the law just because you’re some diplomat’s daughter? Bitch please, I _am_ the Law.” Jason let out a chuckle. “The world wouldn’t care if one mere child went missing, nonetheless be better off with one less diplomat.”

Jason let go of Lila, watching as she stumbled to recompose herself, watching as she trembled like a newborn fawn. “So do me a favor and play nice because Big Brother is always watching.” 

With that, Lila scampered away, leaving a shocked Marinette. 

Jason smirked only for it to drop when he saw Marinette look at him with anger in her eyes. 

“Jason Todd.” He gulped. Shit. “Why the hell do you have a gun in your possession?!”

Good thing Bruce wasn’t here or else he would have something new to bother him with. 

Little did he know Bruce heard everything. That one bug he couldn’t find? 

It was in the holster of his favorite gun. 

* * *

“Maman, Papa! I’m back!” Marinette yelled from the door, guiding Jason into the bakery, a rush of nostalgia hitting him. 

The waft of different breads welcomed him back, as if they’d been expecting him for a while, the scolding Marinette gave him at the school long forgotten. 

This was what he was looking for. 

Jason looked around the bakery, noticing the brioche. He took one with caution before he swallowed it whole, resisting the urge to cry. 

It was just like he remembered it. Warm and filled with love and kindness. 

“Jason!” He jumped, almost choking on the piece he technically stole. “This is my Maman and Papa.” Marinette introduced, motioning to the people beside her. 

A small stature woman and a tall plump man stood by Marinette, Jason now seeing where Marinette got her features and personality from. 

“Um… hello.” Jason awkwardly said, not knowing if he should stretch out his hand or not. “I don’t know if you remember me, but my name is Jason Todd. I-“

Jason felt as he was lifted off the ground, his entire body enveloped in warmth. It was… nice. 

“So you’re the Jason that’s been writing Marinette all these years!” Tom exclaimed, putting Jason down. “It’s a pleasure to finally meet you.”

“We were worried when your mail stopped arriving and when you no longer called.” Sabine spoke up, giving Jason an embrace of her own. “And we got even more worried when we had to move. Since we had no other form of contacting you, we couldn’t give you our new phone numbers nor address! We were worried you’d never reach out to us again.”

“Don’t blame yourselves!” Jason averted his eyes. “A lot of things were happening back in Gotham. If anyone was to blame, it was me for abruptly cutting off any type of communication.” _Even if it wasn’t in my control_ Jason wanted to add, but chose not to.

“Well, that doesn’t matter now, does it?” Jason looked up to see Tom and Sabine smiling at him. “You’re here now and that’s all we can ask for.” 

Oh how badly Jason wanted to cry. Guess Marinette noticed because she quickly proposed to have him join for lunch, her parents agreeing. 

The family invited him past the counter and into their apartment, closing the bakery for the day. 

Before he entered the apartment, he took one look at the family rushing around to prepare lunch, Marinette flashing a smile before her mother reminding her to take the bread out. 

Jason placed a hand over his heart, the other quickly wiping away a stray tear. 

He had done it. 

He came back to her, to Mari, to Marinette. 

He was finally home.   
  



End file.
